2022 in the Theme Park Industry - The Stories that Defined the Year
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- 2022 was a wild year in the industry that had its ups and downs. Let's run it down in this video and find the 5 most impactful stories of the year.
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ttd was the biggest bombshell tbh. there were so many stories this year that were wild. RIP Alberto and Stan, they will be remembered forever as true legends forever
CGA was by far the biggest bombshell
In terms of impacting the whole industry, I’d say closing a decent-sized theme park (especially since the last time a park that big closed was Geauga Lake in 2007) was bigger in impact than renovating a coaster that was known to have problems.
@@landonspeares I have to agree with you, as closing a park is way bigger than a coaster being down for a year or two
@@humfree6436 i agree, the TTD news wasnt shocking but the CGA one was
A story that I was surprised not more people talked about was the Drive-by shooting in the parking lot at Six Flags Great America on August 14. I suppose the fact that it was targeted at the victims and not random people, and the fact none of them died lessened the blow, but SFGAm is my home park so it just put this scary afterthought into my mind for a while
But let's just put all of the negatives and scary stuff in the past as we head towards 2023, here's to hope we get another cool year in the amusement park industry.
Unfortunately, like so much of American life, the biggest risk in going to a theme park is not the rides, but rather gun violence. Knott’s, SFGAM, Kennywood, and Mall of America with shootings in 2022.
It’s absolutely ridiculous! I was at the mall of America for a few hours, and a few hours after we left there were shootings! I have another Mall of America story I’ll get into soon
The other story: my mom was traveling with us (family trip), and she has surgery preventing her from going on rides, anyway, she decided to wait in the gift shop for a while. Some idiot on a flat ride had their phone loose, and it flew INCHES away from my mother, shattered the phone, and DENTED THE CONCRETE. It would have sent us to the hospital. The guy came by and was like 30 years old and should know better. Anyway, if you look really close in the Nickelodeon Universe gift shop, you can see the dent.
I actually dont remember that story at all. I know there was an issue outside Knotts though
@juiceboxer100 LOL, this doesn't happen in any other comparable country though. I dont know how you possibly consider literal shootings "minor incidents." This is not normal. Stop pretending it is.
You missed two stories that I think are pretty major, especially in Southern California. 1 - the closure of Toontown at Disneyland in March for its reimagining.
But 2 and most importantly - Universal Hollywood announcing the closure of the stunt show and animal actors show for a major expansion that will include the Fast and Furious coaster. Universal Hollywood's biggest and most major roller coaster.
Well three stories actually, the 3rd being I took my first dump💩 in the new restrooms🚽 near Candimonium roller coaster in Hershey Park, now I know it's not big news, but it was at least 2 "Katie Couric's"
Honestly TTD closure and CGA closing really impacted this year in a way that changes others
To be honest through, the REASON why my impact story of 2022 is the Icon Park Freefall accident that changes in the Theme Park Industry The theme park company named the Funtime has built the some flat rides especially small roller coasters. However Funtime's Tallest Freefall has been changed the Theme Park, industry including King's Island Slingshot removal, Amusement Parks add the Drop Towers weight limit, added seat belts and they make sure to keep people safe of this ride. I do give a respect of poor people had a awful accident in the rides giving a R.I.P 🙏😔
Hey chris, I appreciate this video and hope it becomes a yearly thing, it's nice to look back on ALL the news in the theme park industry
I did skip 2021 but did one for 2020 but it got age restricted
@Airtime Thrills dude that's lame, was it because of censorship around covid stuff?
@@AirtimeThrills Age restricted how?? This is gonna be good
@@brucemiller64 I also covered events of the world along with theme park events that year so they flagged it over SOMETHING I said or showed. Who knows.
@@brucemiller64 I think you have to be signed in and listed as 18+ to watch it
2022 was definitely a pretty good and wild year for the industry. Can’t wait for 2023 though as I’m sure that’s gonna be even better
I Landed at LAX expecting to go to Knotts that evening but the park closed early due to the fights. And I was at Carowinds when all of the fights broke out lol. Crazy experiences
Hmmmm you seem like the common denominator in theme park chaos
2022 felt very eventful, probably because it was the first year that theme parks got into full swing again after the pandemic
2 more stories you missed: Predator at SFDL had a section of track replaced with Titan Track and there more to be replaced for next season. Niagara Fun Park (formally Martin's Fantasy Island) the water park officially reopened this year (minus the wave pool) Silver comet reopened later and a few new flat rides along with it, next year they're adding a new wild mouse rollercoaster along with a bunch of flat rides (no word if or when the shuttle loop will be installed).
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind. Any time DisneyWorld opens a coaster it’s a big deal because there isn’t a lot of them there
It's the first and only roller coaster at Epcot!
True, that one was pictured but not spoken about. I think the ride's impact was reduced by how difficult getting a reservation was.
What a great year this has been! I visited 2 new parks: Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and Nickelodeon Universe at the American Dream mall. Rode 3 new SeaWorld coasters: Iron Gwazi, Pantheon, & Ice Breaker. Finally, my nanocoaster collection grew threw the roof! Happy new year, Chris!
Happy new year!
July 9th 2022 also the same year that Ultraman Decker & Prima Doll shows debut in Japanese television just days after Glenwood Cavern's Defiance debut,
Great Video, chris
Kanata: yeah i agree
Hiyori: yay
@@chibimaho273 Haizakura: oh no.. don't do it,
You forgot to mention the fatal accident on Cobra at Tivoli Friheden in Denmark that happened on July 14 as well as the crash on Dragon at Legoland Germany and the fatal accident on the Gerstlauer Bobsled in Klotten also in Germany
My only quibble with this is that I would have included the ground breaking and construction progress on Aerial Force One. I know it was announced in 2021 but somehow it seemed a lot more real when they started building it.
Don't forget Nemesis at Alton Towers shutting down in November 6 for a 2 year retracking renovation
Wild times in the industry for sure.
the carowinds fights were horrific. it was the day after my birthday and the first Saturday of the season and we were all horrified. i’m a scareactor there and my friends in the zones had to run behind scenes and hide in a security outpost with people hopping fences. i worked in a maze, but a good few of us stepped outside and comforted guests in the queue. a little boy asked me if we were gonna be okay and it made me tear up. chaperone policies may be annoying for minors but they’re very needed. i hope nothing like this happens again next year.
thank you for another awesome year of content!
I dont know if its only the danish enthusiasts that knows about it, but a girl died on a coaster in denmark. I dont think it went around the world, but it did happend.
I know these aren’t on your radar but all the UK theme park announcements were very important. Particularly project exodus’s planning
This was an excellent recap. Can’t wait for 2023
Closure of a major park certainly is a big story, the last being Geauga Lake in 2007 from what I can tell (with Astroworld right behind it in 2005). But the 2006 "Magic Mountain on the chopping block" scare came to nothing. Really wonder how this will play out.
Hard Rock Park was also a pretty big park with major coasters that shut down, that happened in 09
Heres my top 3 most impactful moments
3.wildcat and top thrill dragster closing
2.cga hetting sold
1.sdc’s train derailing(sdc is my home park and every year,we rode the train to hear grandpa’s story but the train derailed and cancelled that plan 😢😢😢)
I also missed the train this year, one of the best ones
Im so glad i got to ride TTD a month before it got closed
also i love how no one was surprised by wildcats revenge
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate i rode vortex as well
I can say confidently this year will be historical as far as the theme park industry is concerned.
While we have a lot of great things to look forward to, we also had a lot of sad news come. I’m curious how next year will look with TTD and El Toro.
As someone who rode my first ever b&m invert and standup there, as well as the many other amazing additions over the years, the cga story hits hard, honestly it’s the northern Cali park more worth visiting, discovery kingdom is my home park and I’d rather have that than no park at all but cga just does things six flags can’t and or won’t, I better take full advantage of going in the next few years. Just doesn’t make sense really, I don’t see anything wrong at all with the park so it sucks that they’re going for a cash grab, would make more sense to sell a lower tier park. At least I can always find everything I need and want to know about coasters from this channel! Hopefully there’ll be nothing but good stories this year, for the industry and for you personally, happy new year! Still hope to meet you at a park one of these days
Thanks for the great summary. What a year!
Kennywood is also preparing for a single rail coaster named Spinvasion in the spring of 2023
7:25 Catapult Falls is reviving the log flume uphill segments that also have flowing water on the segment, something that became extinct when Kennywood removed the Log Jammer.
Good video, Chris. I find all your content very informative and interesting. I like how you not only summarize the positive events in the theme park industry, but also the down ones, too. I can kind of relate that to my life this year in the essence that although I had many positive events happen overall, I went through some downtimes, too. Cannot wait to see what next year brings!
this is one of your best videos ever! I really enjoyed it & I think it will get more views than your average videos.
The other story that I would have added that no one has mentioned in the comments yet is the potential return of a theme park to Nashville with Storyland
@maddox121- they have a 2.5 minute video up on their website - complete with four lands and some visuals for each area
Don’t forget about the opening of Brava! This is the first roller coaster open in an art museum.
Surprised you didn't discuss Salim and his complete missteps for 2022. That was huge as SF was really the only chain that slumped badly in 2022.
I agree… a HUGE drop in attendance seems worthy of a mention.
I think the biggest bombshell for me was when word got around that Zamperla would be heading up the Dragster renovations. Talk about the last people you’d expect
The music in the background automatically made my hum a Dutch version of that song called ''Nederland oh Nederland" 😂
2022: The year where major rollercoasters were ALMOST lost.
Wow what a year!! Great vid
Hank Salemi passing last January was a shock. RIP
I remember that but missed writing it down, thanks for commenting
Nice video! 2022 was an interesting year for the industry, however I’m very interested in how the 2023 year will be, at least in terms of new additions. Some great looking rmcs, some awesome looking Intamins, another Gerstlauer infinity coaster in the US, and more. B&M is revitalizing the stand up coaster, an RES is making the Gerstlauer Skyroller into a coaster… keep up the great work!
Check out Mondays video for a full rundown and ranking of the major 2023 coasters
Awesome video!! Don’t forget about Defiance opening
One thing you forgot is the Nemesis closure, that’s huge!
CGA has steadily become my favorite park in california in 2022 and my last trip during this winterfest really cemented it. so starting in 2023 i'm getting season passes and making up for all the time we lost skimping out on the park for knotts or magic mountain instead. i'm really going to miss it a lot when its gone. i pray there's some sort of intervention that keeps the park around longer, but i also know that the fight for land in the san jose/santa clara area is real. :(
Dont forget the opening of Cosmic Rewind at Epcot.
2:22 I know I'm a year late, but I wouldn't see any way BGT would close Kumba. It's one of the most intense b&m's I've been on, I love the helix into and out of the tunnel, and it super smooth for being a 30 year old coaster. Sure it doesn't get a line, but it's because it's tucked away at the back of the park
You forgot to mention that on December 14, Super Nintendo World at Universal Hollywood opens on February 17 and not too long ago as well, Splash Mountain at Disney world is closing permanently in January.
Thanks for this. And I missed that Joyland was saved! 😝
I really need to swing thru Lubbock at some point and see it
@@AirtimeThrills It’s nowhere near as good as Wonderland, but worth a visit for a couple of hours. I managed to do both parks in one day without too much difficulty, fwiw. Anyway, I’m glad to hear it hasn’t closed!
1:08 “a second crane has hit the Twister Tower!”
@maddox121well it’s been 20+ years
don't forget Kennywood's announcement of Spinvasion and the newly renovated section of the park called Area-412
Also in 2022, they started clearing out the old Geauga lake site, finally laying this venerable park history to rest
Blue streak at conneaut lake park was on of my first coasters I'm so sad to see it go in a bad way.
Babe wake up, new airtime thrills vid just dropped
LOL
Great video, surprised you didn't talk about the shooting at sfgam though.
Great job this year as usual. Hopefully plenty of new credits for you and Sofie. My list is Hershey Park, since I am only 80 minutes from there, and would love to hit Carowinds and it depends on if the Reimagined Top Thrill Dragster is done in 23, if so, will head out to CP. I’ve been on all the big boys , Kingda Ka, XCellerator, TTD, if not, will focus on Carowinds and wait until 2024 for CP to open up the new ride. Again, thank you for a great year of sharing to the channel. Happy New Year!!!!🎆🎈🎊
Thanks! And happy new year!
3:23: This happened when I got the first three Harry Potter films and Shrek 2 on DVD, as well as Aliens on VHS while grounded.
Already gave it a like because I knew it would be good
I also can’t wait for tron to be delayed 3 months because on like the last test the brakes “break”
July 2nd - Sik opened at Flamingo Land (relocated but never opened Intamin 10 inversion coaster, Rev. B), the best ride in the park and one of the best in the UK (top 5)
Just what I want my birthday associated with, the Blue Streak fire.
2022 also in September Disney finally announced the opening of Tron at Magic Kingdom, and also you forgot what’s with six flags losses with Selim being ceo and it’s high prices
And also Sesame Place in Philadelphia was boycotted In July after a controversial incident with one of the Characters
I didnt have anything here about Selim Bassoul because there wasnt really one event to point to aside from the quarterly numbers being released but that was a big topic of conversation. I completely forgot about the Sesame incident though that seemed to die off really fast
a story i would include is project exodus at thorpe park getting full approval and beginning construction, as a uk coaster enthusiast it was incredible news to hear
Airtime Thrills is so underrated...
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate thanks for the fair rating lol
[VID IDEA] If you could design your own Six Flags (Pt 1) or Cedar Fair (Pt 2) what coasters and flat rides would they have?
CGA was a massive bombshell. It's all the way across the country from me but still I was kind of shook lmao. It came out of nowhere, and it feels even more foreboding and looming that it's not going away immediately....but rather withering away and eventually closing permanently in a decade. Like a depressing countdown essentially. CGA has so much promise too being in the Bay Area, great demographics, growing population, booming economy, healthy competition with Six Flags in Vallejo.... damn shame imo.
Idk why but this music always makes me cry 😂
i replayed that El Toro camelback 20 times, look how ducking wild that airtime looks wtf
love the content and always here for the new uploads
Icon Park was on my bucket list
Cant believe I didn’t hear about woody woodpecker until now.
That was my first ever rollercoaster. Traumatized me a bit tbh lmfao but I still remember it fondly
I was celebrating when it was announced that Disney fired Chapek and Iger was returning.
USH's announcement of the closure of both Special Effects Stage and Universal's Animal Actors (along with the shop between them Production Central) came completely out of nowhere. I am going to miss those 2 shows.
Sea World trying to buy Cedar Fair and Cedar Fair pulling the plug on CGA were definitely the most wtf events of the year for me even if the first turned out to be a nothing burger. On the flip side, LaRonde deciding not to attempt resurrecting the most loathed coaster of all time was my “no duh” event of the year.
I think one big story that was missed was on July 20, an employee at Silver Dollar City died after being hit by a train on Thunderation
SFGA is my home park and I'm interested to see what happens with El Toro. I rode it after it reopened the first time and it was rough and slow, a shadow of it's former self. Great Adventure's ride additions have been abysmal considering it's the chains second highest park in attendance, I've always wondered if it's because the maintenance costs of El Toro and Kingda Ka are so high. Not a single new coaster from 2006 - 2022 is pretty crazy!
Well give jersey devil a little credit, that was a legit addition and not a clone
I completely forgot that sea world Aussie existed. I know it’s a small park but it is part of a chain, all the coasters are underwhelming and it has a lot of IP. I mean there is only like 3 coasters. At least jet rescue coaster is better than whatever arctic rescue is gonna be. If you have anything else to say just say it below.
Also, the owner of Lagoon, David Freed, passed away just days ago.
I'm pretty sure I actually screamed "what" when I found out about CGA, I had to Google it and click on a few sources to make sure I wasn't being mislead (see RoS, Kumba). I'll probably never make it there but that stinks. I hope in some ways 2023 is less eventful but Happy new year to all and many coasters to everyone in 2023
Yep! Wild year.
Great America wanting to close down X flight: where am I
wow it’s been a big year!
Man, I wish those Kumba rumors were true. I cannot express how much I dislike that ride. Ridden it 6 times, got a headache each time no matter what row I was in. It feels like it has potential but it's just so dang rough. Only ride I won't do when I go to BGT.
Hulk or kumba?
Yeah i hear ya, it wasnt all that pleasant this year when i rode it
The biggest thing that went unmentioned is the class 5 restraint seat belt
You forgot to mention Six Flags Darien Lake demolished the Iconic Giant Wheel.
Nov 15th. Kennywood Park revealed Spinvasion will be coming to the park in spring 2023. Kinda felt like it should be there since you also had other flat ride announcments.
Great video as always!!! I’m wondering if you might know what is happening with Mindbender at West Edmonton Mall? Heard rumours its being removed, !?
I hope not! That coaster may be rough but I always found it to be super forceful and fun! (I grew up in Edmonton and once rode that sucker 21 times in a row. The wicked headache was worth it)
@@poodleeyes4731 I also hope not!
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate I’m sure you’re right, but it’s been closed since 2020 so I’m simply asking if someone knows.
I havent heard anything about its future but i really hope its sticks around for the long term. Thats a legendary ride
I'm surprised you didn't talk about the rumored giga at knotts... I think the idea got shot down this year
what a year
I really do not understand the Mr. Freeze move. I mean I DO, in the sense that they get to market it as a "new" or even "original"/"nostalgic" experience, but the backwards launch is clearly the superior product. I wish they would run one train forwards and one backwards; that would have actually been a great update. I hope St. Louis does not follow suit on this.
Replace Wildcat with the freefall death and I think you have the top 5 stories. Great list overall.
May 27th, Cosmic Rewind opens at EPCOT
The drop tower ride was so sad, especially after they found the ride had been altered manually. I hope someone ends up in jail for it but I sense a cover up unfortunately.
You forgot the announcement of Danse Macabre at the Efteling, the first intamin Dynamic Motion Stage in the world. Which is set to open in 2024.
My big news was Nemesis closing we knew it would be soon but not that sudden
Airtime thrills, will you go back to Busch Gardens Tampa during your visit to Florida? I went to BGT yesterday and got 2 awesome rides in row 6 and 8, (row 8 was the first ride in which I stapled myself but I felt some great sensation). Is Iron Gwazi great in all rows? I wish to know to see if I truly got a good feel for this coaster
I honestly only rode in rows 10 and 12 so not sure how it is elsewhere. For me RMCs are back row or bust
2022 content! :)
Hi humfree
What about the chessington b & n wing coaster's track was completed the other week
Not a huge miss but Emperor opening at SWSD and Defiance opening at Glenwood in 2022
I got the credit for The Bat maybe 30 minutes before its wheel derailed
I can't ignore the allegations of racism by character-workers at Sesame Place in the Philly area. That was dominating my local news for a while.
Yeah that was a weird story
Canobie Lake Park ripped out its old Arrow corkscrew and is apparently getting a Zamperla NebulaZ--in fact, they bought the specific one that was demonstrated at IAAPA.
These weren't hugely significant stories, but... they were stories.